Luck Struck
by Miss Jordan
Summary: It's all about Luck. A chance meeting in a restaurant with the parents, rooming next door to the sister. Fate is trying hard to push Bella & Edward together but will fate get its way? Canon pairs.
1. Chapter 1 (New)

**Chapter 1**

As I carefully ran my finger underneath the white envelopes seal, I held my breath, a nervous habit that I had had since I was a child. Calming my nerves, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath through my nose, breathing out as I tried to force the tension from my shoulders. It didn't help. I was still shaking as I pulled the crisp paper from its holder and opened it out, being careful not to crease any of it as I began to read.

_Dear Miss Swan,_

_After carefully reviewing all the applications we have come to a decision. We are very pleased to be able to offer you a place at Oxford University, year beginning September 2014._

I couldn't believe it. I had actually gotten in to one of the UK's best Universities. My jaw dropped as I stared at the letter in shock. I had been accepted by countless Universities in the States - there were so many that I only expected to get accepted by a few but _Oxford! O_ne of the most prestigious educations someone could get from what I had heard. It had been dubbed by my advisor as the Harvard of Britain. He had been very shocked – which had more than offended me – that I was going to even bother applying there. Ha.

"So, what does the letter say?" As the post man had shoved the letters through the too small box, Renee had rushed to be the first to the door even though we had previously agreed that I would be the one to open it. She had been gutted but conceded when I had threatened to decline my place. Although she knew that I would never, she took the warning and backed off, opting to instead bounce impatiently from Phil's lap. Under normal circumstances that would have totally bugged me – the constant movement out of the corner of my eyes – but I was so focused that I barely noticed, even when she tried to leap up because I had 'taken too long'.

"I'm in, Mom. I'm going to Oxford!" She squealed in excitement, launching herself at me across the room. I threw my arms around her neck and held her tight against me, jumping up and down together in time. Phil tapped me on the shoulder and pulled me in as I turned around.

"Bells, I'm so proud of you, Sweetie!"

"Thanks, Phil." I muttered, "That means more than you'll ever realise." He smiled and patted my back.

I knew that this letter was the key to pastures green. I had had a good life up to now. I had lived in quaint Forks up until I was eight in a good size, pale yellow house with my mom, Renee and my dad, Charlie. Charlie had been the Police chief – a well-respected man who was very much valued in the close-knit community I had been brought in to and Renee, the stay-at-home mom who dabbled with a little bit of everything: horse riding, pottery, yoga, vegetarianism – everything that you could possibly think of, Renee had tried.

When he passed away, though, we moved up to the sunny state of Phoenix to be with Grandma Swan. The money that we got from selling the house was put in to a bank account and we had moved straight in, slotting ourselves in to her tiny home.

Then Phil came along. Phillip Dwyer, minor league baseball player, divorcee and owner of _Dwyer & Co.,_ the company that dealt with your problems. I hated him from the moment that I first laid eyes on him.

It took until I was fifteen and had grown up a hell of a lot before I would even give Phil a chance. It took time – a lot of it – but eventually, after three years I'd grown up majorly and become a driven teenager who adored Phil simply because he was what my mother wanted. There were no more selfish hate rages. I studied hard to get the grades I would need to head over to England, and now that the days were finally here, I was happy as hell. This moment was the turning point in my life – a chance to do well - and boy was I looking forward to it.

Closing my bedroom door behind me, I flopped down on to the bed and closed my eyes. This would be the beginning of a new era; new chances, new friends and new hope. This was it.

Authors note: This is the first Chapter that has been re-mastered. I have taken part of the chapter off and made a new chapter 2, breaking the chapters up to more manageable sizes so please, please do not read on unless Chapter 2 says 'Re-mastered' or the story will not make sense.

Disclaimer: All characters used belong to Stephanie Meyer. Any traits of characters aren't meant to resemble any real life people that I may know or have met. Any places used are subject to copyright. No copyright in fragment intended.


	2. Chapter 2 (New)

**Chapter 2**

When I opened my eyes, it dawned on me: today was _the_ day. It had been a month since I had received my acceptance letter and, in that time, I had raced stressfully through the long list of tasks I had to complete in order to move. It had been a chaotic month crammed full with sleepless nights, endless packing and last minute worries but in the end it had been worth it.

I moved through the mornings activities thoughtlessly, concentrating on one thing. In exactly twelve hours I was going to be living in my dream place.

Time seemed to fly by and before I knew it I was sitting in one of the uncomfortable blue chairs, my worn bag resting on the chair next to me, twisting my fingers anxiously. My mother sat to the left of me, her legs crossed together, one hand resting on my thigh and the other in her lap, entwined with Phil's.

"Mom, I'm going to go grab a coffee; either of you want anything?" They both shook their heads and, as I retreated, I could feel their eyes burning into my back. They had been over-loving this past month as if they were scared to let me go.

I sighed once I had reached the food mall, and slowed my brisk walk to a stroll while I looked for some place good to grab a drink. By the time I had smelt the food drift towards me, my stomach began to grumble and I gave up. I probably wouldn't be able to eat when we were up in the air anyway. Or more accurately, keep it down.

It wasn't long before I managed to find somewhere I was familiar with: TGI Fridays. Charlie used to take me here when I was a kid for some father and daughter bonding time. We used to order the same thing every visit, a pizza to share and a chocolate ice cream sundae for dessert. We would have exactly two cokes each and on the way back, Charlie would stop and let me choose a magazine or a new book. It was our monthly ritual, and now, more than ever, I wanted to feel that connection, even if only for a fleeting moment.

Pushing the dark blue wooden doors open, I walked to the server booth and stood waiting for someone to find me a table. I was waiting for what seemed like ages before a waitress made her way over to help me, right as the doors opened behind me. I glanced behind me. It was an older couple, arms wrapped around each other, smiling, love so deep in their eyes it made me feel like I was intruding a private moment.

"Yes, how can I help you?" The server brought me back to reality, making me blush at being caught staring.

"Erm … a table for one-" The server look contrite.

"I'm sorry, Ma'am but we can't allow tables for one at the weekends as we are so busy-" Before she could finish, a musical voice cut her off.

"How about a table for three then, please?" I turned to the voice, shocked but he wasn't looking at me, staring instead at the flustered waitress. His eyes were burning intently as he looked at her from under his lashes, eyes smouldering. She stuttered incoherently before nodding trace-like and leading the way through the restaurant.

"Tha-thank you." I blushed and he laughed.

"Don't mention it. Our Son would be upset if we let a beautiful lady such as yourself go without food." I blushed and he grinned. God, if his son were only half as fit as him, I would probably be charged for molesting him. He was so charming, I'm not surprised that he managed to make the waitress say yes to him. I think I would have acted as the table had he asked.

He pulled the chair out for me, "Thank you".

"You're welcome, Bella." Shock flitted across my face as I was momentarily stunned that he knew my name, but when he nodded at my wrist as he sat down, I understood. I was wearing the bracelet that Jacob had given me when we were twelve that had my name engraved on a plaque of silver stitched on to it. I literally hadn't taken it off since the day he tied the perfectly formed knot because, one, it was so beautiful that I couldn't bring myself to lose it, and two, the emotion behind it had melted me; it was one of the sweetest things a boy had ever done for me, e_ver_.

"Bella, oh-my - what a pretty name." The woman exclaimed as she a bottle of wine. My cheeks stained red.

"Thank you …" I trailed off and smiled apologetically at her.

"Esme," she completed. That was an old-fashioned name but there was something about it that made it modern and perfectly fitting for her. I didn't know whether it was the fact it was soft and motherly, or something else, but whatever it was the name was completely fitting.

"You have a very nice name." I complemented making her laugh.

"Thanks, dear, but yours is so much nicer. Bella Cullen has a perfect ring to it." Confused, I stared at her.

"Excuse me?" The man laughed now and I realised that I had all but forgotten he was there – quite an achievement really considering that he was sex personified.

"Oh, do excuse my wife, always jumping ahead of herself. It's nice to meet you, Bella. I'm Carlisle, Carlisle Cullen."

Awareness dawned on my face as he laughed silently, his shoulders shaking lightly. I once again went red this time a deeper beetroot shaded. "Oh, I, um, I …" I didn't know what to say.

Esme smiled guilty. "Sorry, dear, I didn't mean to embarrass you, but you would suit my Edward so much you wouldn't believe it. You're exactly his type, not that you would know that from looking at his _type_, but you are, believe me, and you are so matched to him in personality, you would not believe it!" Gushing, she leant forward with an eager expression in her beautiful eyes. I just nodded letting this kind, yet slightly crazy, woman have her fun. If she wanted to believe me and her son were meant to be, then who was I to kill her buzz. Here she was eating a meal with me over a romantic night with her husband.

"Oh, okay, that's cool." I giggled falsely.

I was saved from saying any more as the food arrived and the conversation was steered in another direction – a much safer one at that.

"So, Bella, why are here all alone tonight? Sorry, I don't mean to be rude, you don't have to answer if you would prefer not to, but I'm simply curious. What's a nice young woman like you doing in an airport alone without any luggage?" Carlise asked gently as he pulled a knife and fork from their holder and began twisting his tomato pasta around them hungrily.

From anyone else, this question would have seemed intrusive and rude, but from Carlisle, the question was soft and, in a way, comforting, like he actually wanted to know rather than he was asking because he felt he should. It made a welcome change from normalcy.

"My mom and stepfather, Phil, are sitting around somewhere with their luggage – mine has already been shipped over to England – so I decided to come somewhere for some dinner. It's been a long day and, as my last here, I decided I needed some kind of treat. I won't get many chances to come back over here until I at least get settled and get a job, earn a bit of money, you know?" They nodded like they did know, but judging by what they were wearing they could easily afford the plane ticket back and forth. "They're only staying a few weeks before they come back here and then, I'm on my own."

Esme and Carlise listened intently as I explained to them what I planned to do when I graduated and, with a little prodding from them, they listened as I explained what happened with my dad. They listened as I regaled tales of my father and of Jacob back in Forks.

By the time I realised my phone was buzzing, I was pulled out of an oddly happy stupor. I realised that I'd finally told someone _everything _and, much to my surprise, I felt a whole lot better. I never realised that the expression 'a weight off my shoulders' was actually true.

"I'm so sorry, but I'm going to miss my flight so I have to go. Here, let me just get my purse …" I flipped my phone closed after a very frantic call from my mom informing me we had ten minutes until gates closed and began rooting through my bag to find my purse. With a flush, I realised I was presuming that they would mind me not paying for them. I wouldn't mind because they had been amazing for me, but I didn't have enough cash on me to cover what I thought the bill was going to cost.

Before I could stutter an excuse or an apology out, Carlisle held his hand up. "Bella, tonight is our treat. We only get to meet truly amazing people once in a blue moon; and for your company tonight, we'll be forever in your debt so allow us to at least repay you a little." He continued, cutting me off as I opened my mouth to protest countless times.

I gave up. I was going to miss my flight, and for once, I didn't have it in me to argue.

"I can never thank you enough for this, and, I'm so sorry to be rude, but I'm going to have to go now because my flight's about to leave." Esme stood, as did Carlisle, and walked round the table to me. She wrapped her slender arms around my shoulders and held me tight in her comforting embrace.

"Thank you, Bella, for showing me that there is someone who is perfect for Edward; I had almost given up hope, but now I have it again, we'll just have to see where fate leads us. If we cross paths again, I hope it will be permanent; if not, I hope you have a good life and remember how much of a special person you are. Bella Swan, you are truly one of a kind." Placing one motherly kiss on my cheek, she stood back and allowed Carlisle to step in her place.

Like Esme, I only reached Carlisle's shoulder so I rested my head on him as he wrapped his arms around me saying goodbye.

I waved lightly as I walked from the restaurant, feeling light-headed until I got out into the bright lights of the airport when reality, like the bitch it is, slapped me across the face. My flight was about to leave and I _had_ to get on it. I started the sprint across the crowded space hoping to all gods up there that I got there in time.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Sliding in to the seat, I sighed relaxing in to the soft fabrics. Ignoring the chattering from all around me I plugged in my headphones and lay back as the sounds faded in to the background …

A nudging on my shoulder startled me. I struggled to wake up as the owner of the arm started speaking to me.

" … Landing now so we need to buckle up, dears." Carlisle spoke gently to me as if he knew I wasn't quite with it. I complied, snapping my belt in and leaning back as the captain announced our descent. I held my fingers over my ears and pushed down hard hoping that the popping wouldn't happen. I couldn't stand it when I got off the plane and my ears buzzed and popped from the pressure.

It only took another fifteen minutes before the plane landed securely and we were allowed to shuffle off, revelling in the use of our legs. Although you were allowed to walk around on the planes – and I did, frequently – there was nothing like a proper walk to get you going. Since I was a little girl, I'd always had a phobia of my feet turning blue from lack of oxygen and dropping off when I was on a plane. So far, that hadn't happened, but it was only a matter of time I suppose before I actually knew someone that did and then I'd freak out all over again. Silly kiddy riddles. Who needs them?

"You okay, Bella?" Phil asked as he walked beside me.

Carlisle had gone to the toilet quickly as he hadn't been since we had set off. Apparently, the male ones on the plane were disgusting so he refused to go while it was in flight. Esme and Renee were still behind us, talking. It was a wonder they hadn't run out of stuff to talk about. They hadn't stopped since they met each other, so they must have had pretty busy lives. Rather, Esme must have had a busy life because I knew for a fact that Renee couldn't talk for that long without getting bored and needing to find a new person.

"Yeah thanks, you?" he nodded. I could tell he was trying to say something but didn't know how so I walked along patiently until he felt ready. It didn't take long.

"Bella …"

"Yes, Phil."

"I just wanted to give you this." He stopped abruptly while he rooted around in his back pocket for something, finally emerging with a manila envelope. He began walking again, slower this time so he could show me whatever it was. "It's not much I know, but when my parents died last year they left me a lot of money because I'm an only child. Your mother and I didn't tell you because we're saving it until I get a permanent job somewhere so we can settle down and build the house of our dreams. But, before you go, I want you to have this so that you've got something to fall back on if you need it. Please don't get excited but it's the least I can do to say thank you for accepting me so readily. If you hadn't then I know your mother wouldn't have married me and I wouldn't be the lucky man I am today." He smiled, his skin crinkling up around his eyes.

I smiled warily as he handed me the envelope. I took a deep breath before I slipped my finger under the opening. I didn't think I could accept money from Phil. It was enough that he paid for my mother and I month in, month out, let alone that he was trying to give me money now as well. It took me a bit to pull the check out but after a bit of struggling I managed. My eyes bugged out of my face and I comically flicked my head from the piece of paper back to Phil again countless times until I realised I had stopped. Phil was looking at me expectantly so I stuffed my pride away and threw myself in to his arms, tightening them around his neck.

"Oh my God, thank you so much, Phil! You're such a nice guy!" He chuckled softly as I breathed out my praise and gratitude over and over. "Thank you so much! I can never thank you enough. No, actually, I can't accept this from you, it's too much! Oh well actually, oh, I don't know." My dialogue went on like this for a good few minutes before he held his hand over my mouth and I stopped, sheepish.

"Bella, calm down. The money's already in your account so you're having it. The cheque was just to see your reaction. Let's not say any more about it because, for all intents and purposes, you're my daughter so what's mine is yours." He moved his hand away from me and took Renee's as everyone began walking again. My mom looked back at me over her shoulder and smiled, winking. I sighed and followed. That was so nice of him that I was kind of at a loss for proper words. I had never been any good expressing my feelings so now that someone had given me a sum of money well in to the six digits, how could I ever thank them enough?

Ten minutes later we were all walking along the sidewalk together to find some cabs. I trailed along, listening faintly to the conversations going on around me, but I was more interested in the accents of the people. They were so … British. I suppose a lot of people would get annoyed at me for saying that but it was true. Although they weren't exactly what you would expect, they sounded so different to what I was around normally that I was transfixed by them. They were kind of cute. I know it sounded totally irrational that I found them cute but I truly did. The way they said things like pen and tomato, it made me laugh. So that's exactly what I did. We walked along the street with me giggling to myself when finally everyone stopped and turned to me like I was crazy.

"Bella, what_are_ you giggling at?" Esme cocked her head to the side.

"Erm," I hesitated considering whether she would think I was rude or not then decided she probably wouldn't. "Their accents.'

She laughed at me and shook her head in a self-indulgent manner. "Bella, you do realise that our children have a British accent?"

I stopped giggling and looked at her shocked. "Really!" I asked, and when she nodded, began jumping up and down clapping my hands together. "Wow," I gushed. "I have to meet them - and soon! We're going to get on so well because I'll be able to listen to them all day long, even if they're boring. I mean, of course they won't _be_ boring, but hypothetically …" I trailed off and Esme and Carlise laughed.

"Don't worry, Bella, I'm sure you won't think them boring; or they you for that matter!"

I laughed and nodded. "No, I'm sure I won't, Esme."

Mom watched our exchange and then sighed. "Well, here's a cab. We're going to have to say goodbye now, as much as it saddens me. It was nice meeting you, Esme, Carlisle, I hope we can stay in touch." Renee hugged Carlisle and then Esme, as did Phil and I.

After we said our final goodbyes and jumped in a taxi, telling the driver the hotel address where Phil and Renee would be staying. We'd decided that we would go back to the hotel and freshen up and then we would go together to look at my new flat on-campus, after that, we would head out for lunch and spend the day shopping for new furniture. We had two weeks to get the flat decorated and ready for me to sleep in before they left so we needed to get started straight away. That's another thing Phil was paying for: my new flat. He was buying all my paint, furniture, and first month's food bill just so I had time to settle in. He said it was a gift for me for giving him his beautiful wife, but now I'm starting to realise that the money Phil was given was going to me to set me up in life. He must have gotten so much money from his parents; I always knew they were rich just from the size of their eight bedroom house but never did I think that he would get left it all!

"Thanks for this, Phil, and you too, Mom. You could have used that money for something for you, but instead you saved it to help me, so thank you."

Phil smiled at me. "Bella, when I met your mom I knew that you two were a package deal and I still took you on, and, although I have only known you three short years, I'm proud to call you my daughter." I smiled, teary-eyed, and took a breath as he carried on, "And I want to give you this money because I want my daughter to have the best in life so you will. I've got somewhere else to take you in the morning. I know that you're not gonna like it but humour me please." he begged. I narrowed my eyes but sighed. If this was what he wanted – even if it annoyed me – I would suck it up. It sounded selfish but I couldn't resist. He wanted to give it to me, so I would take it.

"Thank you." We spent the rest of the journey in silence, tiredness over coming all of us. By the time we reached the hotel, we were lethargic and slow as we trudged up the stairs.

"Dwyer." Phil replied after the perky receptionist asked for his surname.

"Room 301, floor 7. Here's your key." She handed over a shiny silver key and we all headed for the elevator. The doorman pressed button seven after asking us what floor and we all got in as the doors closed behind us, sending us shooting upwards with shocking speed.

"Guys," Phil began, "I think I'm going to have to have a nap before we do anything – I'm knackered. Is that okay?"

I breathed out a sigh of relief. "Oh, yes, that's fine. I'm so tired; I can't be bothered doing anything. Thank God you suggested that!"

Phil laughed. "Well, I didn't want to upset you by not going out and doing all day, but I'm worried that I'd be useless anyway with the lethargy I feel. I need to rest for a few hours before I can do anything."

Renee slumped against his chest and nodded, her eyes already slipping closed. "Yeah," she yawned. "Me too. I'm so tired it's unbelievable!"

I laughed as her words trailed off and her eyes drifted completely shut. Phil and I exchanged a look and we both laughed.

"God, she really is tired!" He joked, and as the doors opened, we fell out laughing. It was nice to be so carefree, but I was so tired.

Phil unlocked the door once we managed to find it, and finally, we tumbled in, falling on the chairs around the room. Phil laid Renee on the bed and climbed on next to her, kicking his shoes off and flopping back on the pillow. I dropped my bag on the floor by the door and headed over to the recliner sofa, sinking in deeply. The feel of the soft cushion was comforting.

It was like that that I drifted off in to a peaceful sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 **

I was being shaken repeatedly. I was tired and groggy, but even though I swatted the hand away, mumbling for it to 'leave me alone', it didn't listen. The person hovered until I finally sat up and snapped at them.

"What?" I screeched. Phil sat back on his haunches and looked wearily at me.

"Bella, we need to go," I looked at him blankly. "for your surprise," He continued. "We were supposed to be there over an hour ago, but as he's my friend he said he would wait in the office and catch up on some paper work so we could nip by in an hour. That was half an hour ago. We need to leave. Now." I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes determined to wake up. It was nice enough of Phil to arrange this, and then to make his friend wait for an hour more than he expected, well that didn't seem fair.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry, I'm coming. Just let me wake up. Can we stop by Starbucks on the way out and let me grab a coffee to go or something? I don't think I'll be able to function without it." Phil nodded and left me to go to the bathroom, telling me to meet him up front where there was already a car waiting. By the time I got down there I had been to the toilet, brushed my teeth and tried as best as I could to get my hair looking reasonable. I had given up after trying – and failing – to get more than half the knots out.

"You okay?" My mom asked as I climbed in, shutting the door behind me. I fastened my seatbelt as the driver sped away.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry to keep you waiting, but I had to brush my teeth." She smiled as Phil signalled to the driver who was busy nodding his head up and down to the old music radio.

"Excuse me, do you mind stopping off at Starbucks, please? My daughter could really do with some coffee." The driver didn't hear, so after repeating himself again, Phil sighed and rapped his knuckles loudly on the plastic window separating us. The driver started and then sighed, turning the stereo down slightly and looking back at us via the mirror.

"Yeah?" He grunted, rudely. I was shocked at how unfriendly this man was being. We were being perfectly polite and asking him to take us somewhere. That was his job, wasn't it? Back home drivers would chat to their passengers and talk about life; here they seemed to stink of smoke despite the 'no smoking' policy that was plastered over every window of the cab. Maybe that wasn't too fair of an assumption since I had been silent in the first cab I had taken and this was only the second but so far I was getting quite a bad impression of the cab drivers over here. I would have to wait and see and give them the benefit of the doubt. Maybe this guy was just having a bad day or something.

"Could you please stop at the nearest Starbucks so we could get some coffee? We didn't have time for drinks at the hotel." Phil explained, but he might as well have saved his breath. It wasn't like the driver cared, that much was obvious from the lack of emotion in his dull blue eyes which could barely be seen beneath his greasy, grey mop of hair.

"Hmmm." He grunted in response before swivelling around and turning his radio back up to drown us out. Phil turned to me, a mix of bewilderment and annoyance on his face.

"Well, we'll _probably_ be getting your drink but if we don't then I'm sure James will have something for us, okay?" I nodded and smiled, hoping to calm his now-growing anger. It was pretty rude of the guy, but that didn't mean I wanted Phil starting a full on hoedown in the middle of the walkway.

As it happened, the driver did stop off at Starbucks but he then continued to drive away down the street without so much as collecting our money off us. We thought he might come back but, by the time we had retrieved our order of two lattes, a caramel frappechino, and two pieces of delicious coffee cake to go for my mom and I and we had walked back out to the sidewalk, he was still no-where to be seen. In the end, we walked over to a smart looking man sitting on a bench near the corner of the street reading the paper and asked him for directions. It was lucky for us that it was only round the corner meaning we couldn't really get lost so we set off walking, hoping that it didn't start raining. For somewhere that was portrayed as such a wet, dark place it was actually close to the light of California but nowhere near as sunny. That was to be expected though. When I moved over I knew there was no chance I was going to come anywhere near that kind of heat again, for a few years at least.

When we reached the end of the street where this treat was, Phil instructed for my mom to take my hand as he walked expertly behind me, his hands securely over my eyes. I kept trying to peep but he held firm and insisted that I kept walking. After what seemed like a decade later, but was actually only a few minutes, we stopped and Phil turned me to face to the right, dropping his hands. I let myself adjust to the sudden light and when I did, I started screeching with joy. We were standing outside a car shop, but this was not just any old car shop, this was a Bentley shop. I didn't stop to think, just ran forward and barrelled straight in. There was no one out on the shop floor, but at my loud arrival, an extremely good-looking man walked around the corner, smiling at me.

"Well, it looks like we have a woman of fine tastes on our hands." He grinned at me. "My name's James and I'm the owner of this place. You must be Phil's daughter, Bella." I nodded, still pre-occupied with the gorgeous cars parked around me. I was in Bentley heaven. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Bella." James held his hand out formally and I looked at it for a minute before unexpectedly deciding to hug him instead. He stood frozen for a minute before relaxing slightly and patting my pack awkwardly. My brain quickly caught up to my actions and I blushed profusely.

"I am so sorry. I'm just so excited to be in a Bentley shop that I just acted without thinking. I don't go up to lots of random strangers and hug them, not that you're random at all because obviously you're James and James is Phil's friend …" I was saved from my embarrassing ramblings by Phil and Renée entering. Phil walked forward and greeted James, introducing Renée as they began talking cars. I couldn't care less though. I just wanted to get in and test drive one of these babies. It's not like I would ever actually own one of these, unless …

"Phil," I blurted. The three of them turned to look at me. "What are we doing here exactly?" I asked. He smiled at me, laughing slightly.

"Isn't it obvious, Bella? I said I had a surprise for _you_ and now we're here at a car dealer. Hmmm, not obvious at all!" He joked as they all laughed together, but I was too thrilled to speak so I did something that I just couldn't be embarrassed about – anyone else in my place would have done the same thing. I squealed like a child on Christmas morning when they came down and found that Santa had come and left them lots of goodies. Jumping up and down and clapping my hands together, I had a face-splitting grin.

"Well what are we waiting for? Let me see some of these beauties." Phil laughed and gestured for James to come and help me. James smiled and, leaving Renée and Phil to look around alone, he came over to help me.

"So Bella, what do you think you're after? You're going to be in college aren't you so you'll want something practical, comfortable and able to get you places but you'll want something that allows you a bit of freedom and … coolness." He winked at me and began walking away to a desk situated at the end of the room. He sat down behind it and began clicking away at the laptop, typing stuff every so often. "Colour?" He asked eventually.

"Black." I loved colours, but for a Bentley it had to be black; there was nothing else that could even be considered.

"Okay. You're a decisive one aren't you?" He joked but I nodded seriously. I had wanted one of these since I was a little girl, but with the amount they cost and the greatness of them, I never thought I would be getting one. Even though my dad had left me a sizable trust fund, I would never have dreamt of squalling it. James continued his questioning for over an hour so it was seven before I had finished test driving and signing the paper work. James gave us a thirty per cent discount, but even with that, the car cost more than what I thought I would spend on cars through-out my life, let alone on my first one!

"Thank you so much for your help." I gushed as I pressed the cold metal of my new car key in to my hand. Even that was shiny and looked better than a normal car key. This whole experience had gotten me like an excited child, and the hyper-ness was beginning to get annoying even to myself.

"You're very welcome.' James replied, winking at me. He was very good looking with long blonde hair and clear blue eyes, his muscles showing through his tight white shirt and black straight leg trousers.

"See you soon then." Phil pushed us out the door and towards the new car. Although there were four seats, the back two were designed more for children or occasional use so Phil and Renée decided to get a cab and meet me back at the hotel. I told them I might go for a drive first and they smiled slightly before disappearing into a black cab, speeding off. One test drive turned in to two and then three. It was four hours before I got back to them and by that time, they were frantic with worry. I brushed them off when they asked where I had been because they wouldn't have wanted to know quite frankly. As I had driven away from the shop and onto the main road, I had realised that I wanted to show my car off, and after going to a local shop where there had only been one person, I had sat and racked my brains for a while. After ten minutes I had a brainwave so it was with that that I ended up on the campus of the university that Seth attended, knocking on his door. To say he was shocked to see me would be an understatement, but he had looked happy so that made me more eager. I grabbed his hand and dragged him outside to where I had parked my car. There was already a small cluster of guys standing around it, staring lustfully at the car, stroking its paintwork and caressing its doors. I pushed my way through and when they saw it belonged to me I think half of them died and went to heaven on the spot. What is it about girls and cars that turn lads on? Seth stared at me dumbfounded for a moment before realisation dawned on him.

"Oh, my God, Bella, is this car yours?" I nodded, allowing my smug grin to show. He looked at me for a second more, wide-eyed, and then threw himself at it, inspecting every inch. Finally, he turned to me. I laughed.

"Do you approve?" I asked, cheekily. He guffawed.

"God, of course I approve! You are only lucky mofo, Bella, seriously. If I didn't already like you then this would have sealed the deal." I faked hurt and put my hand to my heart, fluttering my lashes.

"Are you saying you only like me for my car, Seth Clearwater?" He laughed, swotting at me.

"Nah, B, I said If I didn't already like you so calm your panties down. You don't want them to get much hotter anyway 'cause with that arse in 'em, I'm surprised they haven't already melted." I laughed at his blatant flirting and swotted his hand away as he tried to cop a feel, but he just smirked and squeezed my cheek anyway. The lads standing around us were drawn between the car and our little display so I decided to make the choice easy for them: neither.

"Come on, let's get out of here." I said to Seth as I grabbed his hand. We got in the car and buckled our belts.

"Where to, Mr. Clearwater?" He shrugged.

"I don't mind, you choose."

"Seth, this is my first day here whereas you live here: help me out." I sighed, exasperated as he grinned.

"Sorry, I forgot. I'm so used to your weird accent now that I don't remember that you're from alien land." I smacked him in the chest and humphed, crossing my arms over my chest. He laughed again and finally I joined in because he was just so happy it was impossible to be angry with him.

"Come on, then.' I opened my door and climbed out. He just sat in there and looked at me confused so I stuck my head back in and spoke in tones that I guess a teacher would use to a five year old.

"Seth, to drive the car you have to sit in the driver's seat." He gasped looking from me to the seat to the wheel.

"You … car … Bentley … drive." He didn't carry on. He got out and ran round to the driver's seat, climbing in and driving us off in to the city where we spent the rest of the night, blaring music, laughing, and enjoying each other's company. I sure found it easy to be around Seth.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

After being lectured by my mom about texting if I was going to stay out, I sunk down on to the sofa covered in a throw I had found draped over a corner chair. It was quite itchy, but I was so tired I couldn't find it in me to care. I had fallen asleep at a little after twelve and normally, I would have slept late into the morning but for some reason I woke bright and early to the sound of chirping birds. When I glanced at the clock, I noticed it was only six in the morning so I decided to go for a jog. Back home, it would have been fairly quiet if I had found a nice back road four-mile route, but here the traffic was lining the streets, everyone up early for work or various other early morning activities. I decided to jog down the main road outside the hotel and follow it down for a mile or so until I reached a junction where I turned right and followed it all the way down there until I reached a dead end.

It had taken me less than an hour to get where I was and, although normally I could go for a lot longer, I was so tired I decided to walk back and stop at Starbucks on the way. I knew where it was so on the way past I pushed open the door and headed in to the oddly familiar territory. I knew I had never been in here before, but the simple, warm décor was so similar to every other Starbucks I had ever been in that it comforted me slightly.

"What can I get for you?" asked the girl behind the counter. She was very pretty with a tanned face and long shiny brown hair tied in a simple ponytail high on her head. She had blue eyes and clear skin with slightly crooked teeth. She had a slim body, but the perfect plump arse and big boobs to compensate. She was cheerful but shy and as I reeled off my morning coffee and three sugars; she smiled tentatively.

A few minutes later she handed me my order and wished me a good day before I headed out. I should have known the clear weather was too good to be true; I was half a mile from the hotel when a light drizzle began so I stared jogging as well as I could with a coffee. Having run lots before while holding a coffee, I was quite good at not moving my arm too much, but that didn't stop my drink being a bit shaken up by the time I reached the doorman. He opened the door wide shutting it straight away behind me, eager to keep the cold and wet out. I didn't blame him; the rain here was cold and hard, not like in California. I suppose the rain there was condensed from the sun, but here it was just blown in from the cold sea. Sheesh, it would be a lot to get used to.

When I got back up to the room, Phil and Renee were sitting eating a large breakfast of fruit, croissants with jam, and fresh orange juice. They offered me some, but I politely declined and opted to get dressed instead. I jumped in the shower and quickly relaxed as the warm water cascaded down over my stiff muscles. As it began to un-thaw me, I grabbed my strawberry shampoo and got to work rinsing out my greasy locks.

"Bella," came Renee's voice through the door as she knocked twice. "Phil and I are just getting dressed. We'll go out then and leave you in peace. We'll be in the foyer, okay?"

"Thanks, Mom." I replied, rinsing the suds down the drain.

"You're welcome." She replied, and true to her word, a few minutes later the door slammed shut and I emerged from the bathroom to get dressed.

Last night, Renee had taken my clothes from the suitcase and hung them in the wardrobe. I flicked through until I found something to wear. In the end I decided on a pair of tight jeans that made my arse look nice and a spaghetti-strap, white tank top with a black skin-tight cardigan over and my large white, leather Dior handbag. I didn't have too many indulgences but to me, clothes were a no compromise. They were worth the money. To make the outfit complete and slightly dressier, I added a pair off four-inch silver pencil heels from Prada. They were expensive when I had bought them last year but, in my opinion they were worth every dollar.

I grabbed my phone from the charger and threw it in my bag. That had been a present from Phil and Mom for my birthday last year for my good grades. It was a great phone and also doubled as my iPod, but it was better as it didn't need charging a lot. I grabbed my make-up bag, hairbrush, and perfume before slinging it over my shoulder and grabbing my car keys off the side. Banging the door shut behind me, I walked down the hallway un-aware of the staff bustling around me. When I got to the foyer, Renee and Phil were nowhere to be found so I headed over to the man at the desk who confirmed they were out waiting by the car. I headed out and found them standing close together.

"Guys, off of Lily now!" I yelled. They laughed.

"Attached already, Bella?" Mom asked. I nodded and she laughed again.

"Okay," I said as we all got in, Phil in the back and Renee up front with me. "Where to?".

"First up, we need to get you some furniture for your bedroom. We obviously won't be able to fit anything in here so we'll get them to drop it at your flat in a week. How about we head to Wal-Mart - I mean Asda - first?" I nodded and drove us there. I don't know what we were planning to get from there because they didn't exactly sell a wide range of furniture but it was a start. We might at least be able to get some ideas of where about to go.

Two hours later we were sitting back in the car having visited many different boutiques and coming up empty handed. It was almost lunchtime so we decided to have a bite to eat and then reconvene later. I drove them to Pizza Hut before heading out to a Subway and grabbing a sandwich and a coke to take to the park with me. I walked through the wrought iron gates and made my way over to the closest bench. It was a slightly windy day but it didn't bother me much. It was just nice to get a bit of fresh air after the busy morning I had had.

Lunch finished, I headed back to collect Renee and Phil. They were finished and sat outside on the kerb sharing a chocolate cookie. I made them eat it before they stepped one foot inside my car.

"So, we asked around while we had lunch and someone suggested we go to Laura Ashley. It's only round the corner from here and it's lovely, apparently. What do you think? Shall we try it?" My mom looked at me hopefully. I knew she understood my need to have this flat perfect, but she still was getting tired as we all were. I needed to get the furniture and stuff sorted before I could decide on a theme. I already had a black marble en-suite and wet room, black and white tile communal bathroom and my dream gadget-riddled black kitchen installed, but I still had a living room, library/office, main bedroom, spare room and dining room to sort.

Fortunately, my mom was right. When we got to Laura Ashley, I immediately knew it was the right kind of place. It was modern and fresh but still professional.

"Welcome to Laura Ashley. Today we have our new range in; would you care to see it?" The lady bombarded us as soon as we stepped through the door.

"No, thank you. I already know what I would like so maybe you can help me find that instead?" She smiled and nodded as I explained what I wanted out of my room. I wanted an old-fashioned style, white, wood theme with neutral colours because I wanted it to be light, airy, and almost beach-like to remind me of home.

"I don't think we'll have a problem with that, if you would like to follow me." She led me through the store and out to the back room where there were collections of furniture set up against model walls so there were six or seven models of each type of room. We walked past a pink little girl's room, a blue little boy's room, and a yellow baby's room until we got to the elder ones. We carried on walking until we got to the last one, when she finally stopped. I looked at the display.

"It's perfect; exactly what I imagined mine would look like. What do you think, Mom?" I asked as I walked across the beige carpets, imagining me living in this lovely room. I could see myself in it as I leapt on the bed and cozied on down. Mom spoke from across the room. She was standing by what would be the dressing table, looking in the empty draws and lifting up built-in boxes lids. "It's perfect."

I smiled. Good, this might actually be quite easy.

"Good. Could I get everything here?" I asked the lady who stood watching our reactions.

"Yes, they can be bought as well. The whole room comes as packaged furniture and we are able to add everything else to it and when we deliver, recreate this look if you would wish. We can also give you the correct carpet colouring so you can match it to the one you buy." That would be simple and make my life a hell of a lot easier.

"What about the wall paper?"

"You could take that away today and decorate yourself then when we come we can just build the furniture or we can send someone out tomorrow to wall paper for you?" I smiled. One room down, four to go.

"Okay, that's perfect please. We'll take this whole set. Now, I was wondering if you could help me with my spare room. I would like to go for a white and purple theme so four white walls and then plum purple cushions, curtains, accessories, you know?" She nodded.

"Well, we don't have a specific room set up for that, but we do have collections of purple sets that I could show you, and you could choose some dark cherry wood furniture to match that. Then you could match the floor to the wood and just paint the walls white."

"That sounds perfect; you are great at this." She blushed – I was thankful it was not me for once.

"Thank you but I'm just doing my job. Would you like to come with me?" She deflected any further complements and led me through the store to the front again where there were shelves full of bed sets and colour coordinated bedroom sets. I walked over to the purples and began flicking through. Eventually I found a purple set that was plum coloured silk with matching curtains. I pointed at it and she agreed it would look lovely so we picked one up and added it to my basket.

Then we moved on to accessories. After choosing some dark cherry wood photo frames, I added a curtain rail and bedside cabinet in the same design. Then I decided to choose a bed. I walked around for ages until I finally came across the right one. It was a king sized simple bed with a dark wood block frame at either end. It was simple, but perfect for the look I was going for. I added a dark wood wardrobe and vanity desk to that before deciding enough was enough for one day. I would tackle the rest another.

The lady led us to the checkouts and Phil paid on his card before departing the shop with carpet, wood, and paint samples to match for our decorators. We had bought ten roles of the paper in the end deciding to do all four walls. I still wanted to buy a large wall mirror for the spare room but mom insisted that she had seen a gorgeous one for me on the way past another shop. She said we should go in but I insisted we come back another day. I had been awake since six in the morning and now at six in the afternoon I was spent so we decided to head back to the hotel. We ordered room service and flicked through the television channels until we found a film to watch called 'The Hangover'. We laughed all the way through, and though I would have loved to have seen the ending, I just couldn't keep my eyes open. Not much later Phil and Renee informed me they were going to bed, flicking the lights off leaving me to sleep. I thanked them before rolling over and dozing straight off. I didn't even bother to get undressed just lying there in my uncomfortable jeans with eyes like lead instead.

I don't normally do author's notes but this is a plea! Please can I have at least 5 reviews? I have had quite a few people adding me to author alert and adding this story to favourites however, I have had little reviews. I understand that you're all very busy but please just take two minutes to review and let me know what you think. The feedback would be greatly appreciated!


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

The next two weeks passed so quickly that it was unbelievable. It was reasonably warm weather as we jetted from place to place trying to squeeze as much as possible in to the limited time we had. Phil took my mom and I out for dinner every night (or he at least ordered nice food for us to eat in!) and, although we weren't out doing lots, we still had fun together just hanging out and watching my flat slowly transform each day into my dream place.

We had hired the decorators and they only took three days, leaving us to furnish the house. Laura Ashley staff came and set up both the bedrooms on the second week, and by Wednesday afternoon, as the only room left to do was the office, we decided to call it a week deciding we could finish up at the weekend. After all our hard work we deserved a break.

Over Thursday and Friday I decided to treat both Phil and my mum to a day out at a local spa while I spent the day wandering the streets of Oxford, nipping into every little corner bookshop or culture store I found. I bought as many new books as I could, storing them back in my car in-between. At noon, I dawdled along the street until I found a corner café where I ordered a toasted bagel and a latte, snuggling into the corner with one of my many new books.

I was a good forty pages in when I was finally pulled out of my fiction-induced coma by the waitress plonking my order down on the small, round table in front of me. I jumped in shock and she laughed lightly, her green eyes twinkling.

"I'm sorry I startled you. Is that all?" I nodded and returned her smile before she danced off. She began humming a tune as she cleaned all the tables and danced happily along to the radio. The Café was empty apart from me so I don't think she felt that embarrassed. I chuckled to myself before opening my book again and moving around until I was comfortable. I had only read the next few pages when I was interrupted again. I looked up as the person plonked themselves across from me.

I stared at her shocked, as she just took her raincoat off settling it around her, flagged the waitress down from across the café and nodding at her before turning to me, smiling and holding her hand out.

"Rosalie Hale, it's a pleasure to meet you." Looking at her hand for another second, I took it and shook it lightly before pulling away and wrapping my hoodie around me slightly tighter. It was fair to say I was more than stunned at this point.

"Bella, it's nice to meet you too." She rolled her shoulders around a few times, her face contorting as her bones popped.

"So, Bella, where about are you from?" She folded her left leg over her right and placed her fingers entwined together in her lap. She looked just like someone off a chat show with her long blonde hair, clear blue eyes, and thin-framed black glasses. I looked over my body and instantly recoiled. She seemed nice enough, but I could never compare to such model looks. My brown hair, brown eyes, and curvy body were okay for boys, but nothing compared to perfection.

"I come from America." I mumbled. She rolled her eyes.

"Duh, I think your accent gave that away. I meant more specifically. I go traveling in America every summer with my parents." I blushed lightly.

"I live in California, but I was born in Forks originally."

"I know the second, but not the first." I gaped at her openly. Everyone had heard of California.

She laughed at my expression. "Nah, I'm joking. I've heard of both. Some friends of mine used to live in Forks so we visited once or twice in summers. It's a nice place – so wet and cold, but cool."

"Yeah, okay." We both looked at each other for a second and laughed. We both knew she was being nice.

"So, Rose," I began. I was gaining confidence now as I realised that the beauty in front of me wasn't like most brainless bimbos. She had wits and manners. "Where about are you from?"

She appraised me for a moment, and then a twinkle appeared in her eyes. "Forget me, Bella, are you single?"

"Excuse me?" I spat my coffee across the table as I took a deep sip and Rose reared back in shock and slight disgust. And there was the posh side. She dabbed at the spill with a napkin and then threw it in the nearby trashcan, turning to me and repeating calmly.

"Bella," she looked me dead in the eye. "Are you single?"

I stared at her for a moment trying to decide whether she was being serious. She was. I nodded my head, and then confirmed, "Yes." A triumphant grin broke across her face and she clapped her hands together happily. Just then, the waitress appeared again and put another two lattes down on the table, mopping up the table as she cleared away the debris.

"There you go." The waitress smiled at me, and as I looked into her eyes, I realised that they were familiar from somewhere. I couldn't quite decide where from though. I pondered it until Rose finally broke me out of my silent contemplating.

"Bella, this is Alice." All of a sudden, another person had joined us, and I looked to see none other than the waitress, smirking at me.

"Nice to meet you, Bella. Rose here tells me you're single." The first thing I noticed about her as she shook my hand was her firm grasp. I flexed my fingers as she pulled away, and winced; she threw me an apologetic shrug. Her strong grasp was such a contrast from her petit frame it was such a shock when you took the first impact. The afternoon carried on from there. The pair of them grilled me for endless hours until I was pretty sure they knew everything there was to know from the size I was to everything about my dad. When it was finally time for me to leave and pick Renee and Phil up, I was surprisingly sad to go and leave my new English friends. They both however insisted that it was time for them too and, after programming their numbers in to my Phone, we departed hugging each other first.

"So, did you two have a good time?" I asked as Renee climbed in the back seat, opting to let Phil share the front with me this time.

"Oh, Bella, thank you so much; it was amazing!" Renee gushed. For the entire drive back to the hotel she chattered nonstop about the spa day and how "_it was the most relaxing experience of her life_." Ha, if I'd known that I'd have bought her the same experience a couple of years back in the hope of buying me some peace and quiet.

The rest of the weekend passed quickly, the dining room only taking a few hours to finish, leaving me with only an hour to go before my mom was due to catch her flight back home. We spent the last time crying, hugging, and being around each other. They finally had to leave though, so after dropping them off at the airport, I returned back to the hotel to stay for the final night here before moving into my new apartment. It was going to be weird being alone, but I knew I'd have to face it sometime or another. After all, there was no moving on in life unless I flew the nest.

As I drove back to the hotel, I had an odd feeling inside me. I couldn't describe it exactly, but it was like the feeling of new life. It was like I had finally been cut free or something. Of course, I would miss mom and Phil so much, but it was such a thrill to be alone for once that I couldn't get over it.

As I parked my car my mobile began ringing and, surprisingly, I looked down to see Alice's name and photo flash up on the screen. I answered as I stepped out the car, slamming the door behind me.

"Hello?" I hadn't actually expected to hear from Alice no matter how often she had insisted she would call. I mean, she bombarded me in a coffee shop one day – it's not often you keep those kind of relationships alive.

"Bella, it's me Alice!" She rushed.

"Yeah, I kinda gathered that from the caller ID. What do you want?" I didn't mean to come off rude, but as soon as the words had slipped from my mouth, I panicked, only calming down when she laughed.

"God, Bella, feisty much. Anyway, I know that you're mom and Phil were leaving today so I wondered if you wanted to meet up and do something. You could leave the hotel early and stay at mine tonight, or we could go straight to your flat and have a sleepover there?"

"Alice, one: how did you even remember they were leaving today? And two: how did you know that I've got a flat."

She coughed guiltily. "I may have … researched you a bit."

I gasped and then swallowed all in one go. "What the hell?"

"Well, I was bored and curious after meeting you so I asked my dad to find out for me where you would be living and I've got some great news for you!"

I sighed, but was baited. "What?"

"We're gonna be neighbours!" She screamed down the phone excitedly. I groaned.

"Oh my god!" She seemed to take my exclamation as joy when it was really shock and – if I was being completely honest – annoyance. Yeah, Alice was a great person, but I could guess from only having met her once that she was quite a handful and I expected to get through university leading a quiet life with a steady boyfriend and one or two close friends. I didn't want to be broadcasting my news around the whole of campus like I expected she might.

"Yeah, I know, excellent, isn't it?"

"Not exactly the words I would use …" I muttered but thankfully, she was too busy rambling on to hear me or to even pay attention. I briefly contemplated hanging up because she sure as hell wouldn't notice, but then I decided against it. She would only call back anyway.

"Alice, Alice, Alice!" I called after a few more minutes of the one sided conversation. By this time, I had walked in to the hotel and had managed to get to my room, strip down to my underwear, and begin packing up my stuff. I wasn't sure whether I would meet Alice yet, but I sure as hell didn't want to have to sort this mess out tomorrow.

"Oh, yeah, sorry, Bella, hi. I was just talking to Rose."

"Oh, it's okay." I hadn't even noticed. "So …" I finished awkwardly. I wasn't sure if I wanted to put myself out there and ask what we were doing. It would be presuming and honestly, a little stupid, but I didn't want to seem rude by declining. Anyway, two friends were better than none, even if I would only have them off campus.

Suddenly something dawned on me. Alice had said she was going to be living next door to me. It was a campus-based accommodation. Oh. My. God.

"Alice, what school do you go to?" I gritted my teeth.

"God, Bella, I hoped you would finally pick up on that one," She muttered sarcastically and I could almost hear her eye roll before she continued. "What do you think?" She paused for effect, I was sure. "Bella, we're going to the same University!" Alice's scream rung through my ears as I collapsed on my bed with a groan. Well, wasn't that the best news of the day. Bella Swan was going to university with Alice. Three years, that's all I was willing to say. _Three years._


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 **

Half a fucking hour I spent on the phone with Alice after she had finally stopped screaming. Half of that time, I wasn't even on the phone. I just left it on speaker next to the bed and carried on darting around the room packing up my stuff as Alice instructed. She insisted that we meet and, after the terrible blow of discovering we were about to become Uni buddies, I decided it was time to suck it up and get to know her. After all, if we lived next door we would need to get to know each other eventually.

"Bella, I'll see you in a bit okay? Don't forget to bring popcorn!" She yelled before hanging up, her tinkling laugh echoing in the air behind her. I sighed answering slightly too late.

"Yeah Alice, sure." This, I could tell now, was going to be one bloody long day. Alice had already worn me out and it was only eleven. Something, though, made me suck it up and try. I wasn't sure what but I had a feeling so I let instinct take me just for a bit, at least. Within the next hour, I was all packed up, having cleaned the room and emptied the freebies. It may seem cheap, but I paid a bomb for that room and, anyway, who was I to look a free bathrobe in the mouth?

Handing my key in and signing the cheque, I was bid a good day by the doorman as I walked to retrieve me car. I lobbed everything in the boot and clambered in, letting the warm heat envelope me. It was nice in this car – not like the weather outside which was muggy, and not at all what I was used too. However, I had given up the perk of nice weather when I moved from America two weeks ago. Damn, two weeks ago. I had only been here for that long, but already it seemed like longer.

Suddenly my phone buzzed again. "Alice."

"Bella, are you coming or what? I have some people I want you to meet. Can you meet me at yours, and then Rose and I will take you to my house. Apparently, you know them already but we'll have to wait and see." She didn't even wait for me to reply; she just hung the phone down and left me to ponder what she had said. I didn't know anyone from England, at all. I couldn't know anyone. Unless she meant Seth but he had text me that morning saying hey and telling me he was off to the gym. I knew no one. I shrugged; she must have had me confused with someone else.

I carried on my drive, lost in my thoughts. I was worried about starting Uni because I was going to be a freak show being an American but I knew that – despite my protests – Alice would be with me and, even though the little pixie was darn annoying, she would be there for me when I needed her.

It only took me ten minutes to get there and, when I did, Alice hadn't shown yet so I headed in and decided to try out my new shower. It was an amazing experience with all the four different jet heads spraying on my body. Unfortunately, it was cut short by a knock at the door and I suddenly realised that it was all probably part of little Alice's plan. She waited until she knew I was busy, and then knocked so she would get the benefit of choosing my outfit and seeing inside my house at the same time. Bitch.

I reached the door as the knocking began again this time paired with shouting.

"Bella, I know you're home because your car is outside so you better open this door or I swear to god-" She didn't finish her threat because I yanked the door open, chagrin making me rough. Or it did, until I noticed Rose stood behind Alice with two men close behind her. I pulled my towel closer and thanked the heavens that I thought to shave everywhere while I was in the shower.

"Shit, hey." I hoisted the towel up around my bust firmly and gave them a little wave with the hand that wasn't securing my womanhood from being flashed to the neighbourhood. The bigger of the two laughed openly at me; his curly brown hair and dimples the only thing that made him seem more normal and less scary-bully type. Harsh, but this guy was massive. The second of the two was blonde, and after oogling me for a second, smiled politely and looked pointedly at the wall next to me instead.

Alice and Rose giggled. "Sorry, Bella, caught you at a bad time did we?" Alice's eyes were slightly too wide for my liking, so after sneering at her, I turned and stomped into my apartment, leaving the door open for them behind me. I gave it a second or two before I heard it click shut and their heavy feet fall against the wood behind me.

"So, care to explain why you're here with other people? I thought we were going somewhere to meet them." Ha, for once it was someone else turn to blush. Alice went beet red and ducked her head.

"Well were going to – and we still are – but Jasper and Em _popped round_"Wink. "For a bit before." I almost gagged but held it in by breathing deeply.

The brown-haired one laughed again. "Yeah, but if I had known there was going to be a private show around here, I would have waited." Jasper burst out laughing as I flushed. Rose saved me by smacking him across the back of the head. She turned to me.

"Sorry, Bella. This is Em, my fiancée. Ignore him, he has no brains." Em rolled his eyes, feigning hurt.

"Do so. Ask me anything, Rosie, and I'll answer." Rose smirked.

"What do you put in a toaster?" Em didn't hesitate.

"Toast – no! I mean bread. That wasn't fair. You know that one's my weakness." Em folded his arms across his chest looking much like a little girl throwing a tantrum. I laughed and he turned to me, pouting. "Not you too, Bellie! You know that wasn't fair!"

He called me Bellie, like my dad used to, but unlike normally it didn't tear me up, it just made me feel like I belonged. It was a nice feeling so I welcomed it with an open embrace.

"Sorry!" I held my hands up in surrender, but rushed to grab my towel again as it almost slipped. Alice laughed.

"Let's go and get you some clothes, Bella." Rose grabbed my hand and, with Alice led me through to my room. Looks like they already knew where everything was. I bet Alice's flat was pretty similar in layout anyway.

After Alice had finished rooting through my clothes, she threw an outfit at me, warning me to get dressed without arguing. One look at the clothes and I point blank refused. No way was I wearing that to visit her friends. No way in fucking hell.

"No way!" I stated, just in case the murderous expression on my face hadn't been clear enough. She rolled her eyes and stared me down for a few minutes as I shook my head. Finally she sighed, changing tactics. She bowed her head and her little shoulders began to shake up and down in what seemed to be a fit of tears. I sighed and walked towards her, hands out, ready to comfort but it was unnecessary. As I got within a couple of feet, she leapt up and grabbed me by the shoulders, tackling me on the floor. I sat up gasping for breath, but she was relentless, tickling my sides as I heaved and choked on what little air was left in my lungs.

"Bella, give up. Just wear the dress." She was sitting across my mid-section, her hands tickling every little crevice they could reach. I was red from lack of air and laughing so much, but that didn't stop her. She just carried on moving her little annoying pixie hands anywhere within her reach.

"No!" I gasped, trying with all my might to push her off me, but she just wouldn't give up even when I hit her lightly across the face.

"Bella!" She pulled out the big guns now, getting Rose to join in, and as soon as she did, that was me gone.

"Okay, okay!" I cried. "I'll put it on, just stop." Alice clapped her hands together in triumph as she climbed off and let me stand up, my breathing still heavy and laboured. Rose laughed and went to sit back in the corner seat, her legs folded together. I huffed as I took the dress from Alice's waiting hands and stalked to my en-suite, not bothering to lock the door. I ripped my towel off and yanked the dress over my head, doing the side zip up, throwing my towel in the hamper and walking out to see them again. I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at her. "Happy now?"

She nodded and smirked. "You look lovely but now, onto hair and makeup." The glare was replaced by shock as my mouth fell open and I was pushed towards the vanity desk. I shook my head out the stupor.

"No, no way!" Alice nodded.

"Yes way so suck it up, Bella." I tried stopping, but any attempt was futile. Alice just pushed me and pushed me until I was sat in the chair, huffing and puffing as she twisted strands of hair around each other, and then decided against it. She covered my whole face in a heavy layer of powder and then washed it off declaring it 'ruined my pretty complexion'; she yanked one section of my hair way too hard and ended up pulling it out. That's where I drew the line.

"Okay, Alice, enough is enough. I am not – am not – going to let this carry on. I look fine, so let's go." With that, I grabbed my already packed bag and stormed out the room to where Em and Jasper were sitting. They looked at me and wolf-whistled, but when they saw my face they soon shut up.

"Right, let's go, shall we?" They gulped and nodded, edging around the room to the door. Alice and Rose emerged from my room then, looking sheepish.

"Yeah, let's go. Rose, Bella, and I will go in Rose's car; Jazz, you take you and Em, okay?" Jasper nodded, and motioning to Em, walked from the flat. I looked briefly at Alice and Rose before walking out the flat myself and stalking down the corridor. I heard the door slam behind me, and soon, Alice, Rose and I had reached Rose's car.

Even I, in my annoyed state, could appreciate the beauty of the thing. It was red, sleek and, to be quite honest, very beautiful. If people could fall in love with cars then I would have.

"It's gorgeous, Rose." I whispered in awe. She nodded, appearing next to me.

"It sure is. It cost me a fortune as well, but it was worth every penny. It's a beauty." We stood in silence drooling at the car until Alice clapped us both on the back.

"Come on, we can't be late because you two losers are having an orgasm over a car." She mock chided, winking at us both as she got in the back. I opened the door and climbed in the front after her, loving the feel of the wind in my hair as Rose pulled away. Alice screamed.

"Oh, no, Rose, put the hood up. My hair's going to get ruined!" I laughed.

"Alice, don't worry about it. Live a little." She shook her head stubbornly, dipping down to root through her back and finally emerging with a headscarf that she proceeded to wrap around her head, securing all her hair beneath it. Rose and I laughed as Alice glared at us, then huffed turning her head away to stare at Jasper in the car behind.

Rose turned to me and winked. "See, Bella, hair is important!"

I laughed. "Yeah, Rose, I know it is, but after she pulled a chunk out, I drew the line."

Alice's indignant gasp from the back drew my eyes back to her. "It was not a chunk," she defended. "It was just a little piece and it's not like you were missing it anyway! You can't even tell it's gone."

I rolled my eyes. "If that's what you want to believe, Alice, but it's not how I remember it."

Rose laughed. "Okay, ladies, cool off now. We're here."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

I began to hyperventilate. I don't know why I was so nervous to be meeting whoever it was Alice had lined up but as I hardly knew Alice or Rose I felt the need to impress them. Since I had spent my whole life trying to impress people, I wanted the new me not to care but right now, I felt my inner gut telling me to try for these friendships, so I did. We walked up the gravel drive, my heels digging in to the stones, to the large, old-fashioned white doors. Alice pushed it open, twisting the brass door knob.

"Mom, I'm home!" Alice stepped in to the quite environment and the house instantly had a little life in it. Not that I thought it was lifeless before, but before it was a quiet, mature environment – the kind that you would imagine the inhabitants of to read books together in the lounge and go to afternoon gold in their beige trousers and coloured polo shirts, going for G&T's in the club house after until they were happily sloshed.

"Alice!" I heard a strangely familiar voice call from the kitchen. I brushed it off though thinking that maybe the similarity was in Alice's voice. That was until the woman walked around the corner and I realised that the connection was more than just the voice.

"Esme!" I dropped my bag and ran across the hall in to her shocked arms. She chuckled and wrapped her arms around my mid-section which is all she managed to reach up to with these killer heels on.

"Oh, Bella! I forgot to give you my number – I thought it was going to be ages until I ever saw you again and then all of a sudden, you're here and you've met my daughter." Esme pulled away, appraising me. I laughed.

"Yeah, your daughter and I happen to be next door neighbours," I smiled looking at her. "I know crazy right." I added after seeing the look of shock she gave me.

"I knew you were going to the same school – well I told you didn't I – but I had no idea that you would even see each other unless I introduced you. I mean, not that I'm not happy of course."

"Of course, I mean-"

"Excuse me." Alice interrupted. Esme and I both turned to her in surprise having forgotten she was still with us. "You seem to have forgotten that your daughters are here. I know you may love Bella more but it's still polite to say hello to them." She crossed her arms across her chest and rolled her weight back on to one leg and raised her brow, staring pointedly at our bodies, still hugging each other.

Esme smiled. "Oh yes of course, Dear. I'm sorry – come here." She stepped back and towards Alice slightly, opening her arms up wide. Alice was so bi-polar. She flipped out of her mood and ran towards her mom like a little girl. She jumped before she reached her and wrapped her tiny legs around Esme's waist. No matter Esme's small size, she still managed to catch her. I laughed as Esme held out her other arm and like it was some secret signal, Rose leapt at her encasing her in her long arms.

I laughed heartily, watching them in silence until the door opened from behind me. I turned to see who it was but I was positive I already knew. I mean, Esme was here and so was Alice and Rose so who was left? Apart from Alice's brother who – according to Alice – was still in New York, then Carlise was the only likely candidate.

I watched as he edged through the doorway, clambering carefully over the step. His arms were ladled brown bags filled with groceries and heavy looking cartons of milk. Looking the same as the day I first saw him, the only thing that had changed was his outfit which was now a casual pair of jeans matched with a white button down shirt that had the sleeves rolled back to his elbows.

He walked slowly forward testing the ground before he transferred any weight over for fear of tripping. It made me laugh out loud and I immediately regretted it as he stopped still and held his head to the side, listening intently. After a few minutes he sighed shaking his head to himself and carried on tapping along the floor trying to make his way through to the kitchen, I presumed. I waited until he'd taken another ten or so steps before I coughed again. This time he stilled for longer listening but on hearing nothing more, he carried on. The third time I spoke and this time he knew for definite that it was me.

"Carlise!" I whispered but it was enough. He bent down, dropping the bags and flipped round to me, a bright smile lightening up his face.

"Bella," He grinned. "What are you doing here?" He rushed towards me and hugged me to his chest in welcome. I laughed and returned the hug wrapping my arms around his muscles torso. It was such a shame that he wasn't closer to my own age. No, I didn't mean that. He obviously loved Esme but if he had a son … A thought struck me then. He did have a son; A 'gorgeous' one apparently. I was almost pulled in to my thoughts but Carlise dragged me from my mind before I could. It was a good thing really. I didn't want to start blushing and then have to explain myself to Carlise, Esme, Alice _and_ Rose.

Carlise smiled indulgently and shrugged one shoulder again as he bent down to pick up half of the bags. He made his way through to where I presumed was the kitchen and Esme, picking up the remaining bags, followed him. Alice sighed and, grabbing my hand, began towing me up the large staircase. Rose followed closely behind.

"Let me know when the boys get here, okay?" Alice called to his retreating form.

Not waiting for a reply she dragged me up the stairs and began chattering away animatedly to herself – or Rose – but which ever way, I wasn't paying attention. So far I hadn't had the time – or the energy – to look around the house but now, as we slowly made our way up the stairs – I managed to find the time and boy did I like what I was seeing. The house was modern but with an old fashioned twist. You could tell Esme was artistic just by some of the timeless pieces of furniture scattered here and there. As you went up the hall way, there were sporadic pictures showing family members, mostly Alice and her brother but sometimes there was a blonde girl with them. All the walls were a stark white emulsion paint that made them appear clean and fresh but they were dull as well so the colour wasn't as harsh to the eyes. Contrasting the light tones, the hallway floor was a dark cherry wood that was thick and old so your shoes didn't make a sound but it was warm and perfect for this house. The ceilings were quite high and I presumed that had been to counter the height of the family or rather, the men of the family. Not that I knew how tall the son was but I could only presume that, from some of the pictures I'd seen, he was more like his dad than his mom. Not that it would matter either way because both of them were gorgeous! The bannister of the stair case was matching the wood of the floors but the poles supporting it were made from a wood similar to the texture but white.

At the top of the stairs, to the right, was a short corridor that, when Alice took us through, led to a large open room with an entire wall made of glass. In front of the window wall was a desk facing out across the breath taking view with one solitary chair behind it. The desk, like much other furniture in the house, was an old fashioned wood that stood dark in contrast to the continuous white walls and almost white, soft carpets.

"This is my dad's study." Alice informed me as she watched me look around. Against the right hand wall was an old-fashioned, dark wood book shelf that filled the length of the wall leaving only about half a foot of space at the top. Alice smiled and gestured to the door to our immediate left. "Shall we" I nodded.

"Yeah sure." She pushed it open and led us in. I was slightly shocked. I had expected great bathrooms but nothing like this one. For a starter, it was massive and secondly, the entire thing was tiled in marble which shocked me to no end.

"It's lovely, isn't it." Alice asked – or rather, stated. I nodded anyway as she carried on. "I helped my mom design it when she moved in. She wanted the perfect space for her and dad to relax and … have fun." She winced as the words helped her mouth and I couldn't help but laugh. I could guess exactly what 'having fun' was and I didn't really want to think about it. Hell knows how much the thought of my own parents made me feel sick, let alone any one else's.

"Yeah it's nice." I walked in trying to take every tiny detail in to remember later. I doubted I would get to come back in this particular room for a while and I just wanted a memory of what it was like so that when I was designing my perfect house, I knew exactly what to ask for. The shower walls were glass that, as Alice informed me, could fog over if you pressed a button when you wanted to shower. I couldn't believe that people actually had things like that – I thought it was only in dream magazines.

"Right, let's move on. I won't show you mom and dad's room yet, we can always see that later. Let's just get on with the rest of the house." I nodded as she led me back out through to the hallway. We walked round the staircase which was – I realised – in the centre of the house winding up and around to wherever the top floor was.

The next room was a little way down the corridor to our right. Once again the door was made from a dark wood matching the downstairs floors and the walls as we went through were a white colour with the exception of the main wall which had a metallic-pink flower pattern on. The large king-sized bed was pushed up against that wall with old fashioned bedside cabinets and a chest of drawers next to it. There was a simple, pink lamp on the dresser and, as you walked in, a matching to the chest of drawers wardrobe against the door wall. The carpet was once again a soft, white carpet and wall facing out was made of glass. It had a very girly yet mature feel about it and I found myself – despite my hate of the colour pink – imagining coming over to sleep and staying the night in the simple room. I don't know why but I could just see myself fitting there nicely.

"I like this room." Alice smiled and nodded her head as if her suspicions were confirmed.

"Yeah," She replied. "I thought you would. There's just something about it, isn't there?" I nodded. "Well it's good anyway because it's yours." I did a double take as her words sunk in.

"Pardon?" Alice laughed.

"The room's yours Bella. Rose has her own room here and so do Em and Jazz so if you ever need to stay here for the holidays or even just over night some time, it's yours. After all, you won't want to spend all of vacation staying at the Campus but you're not going to be able to travel back to America every time either." Her logic was undisputable and instead of being worried that some one had spent money on me - even if it wasn't specifically for me – I found myself smiling along and thanking her. I had only known Alice for a brief period but already she was changing the way I acted - around her anyway.

We wandered through the bathroom and the rest of the spare rooms down the corridor, Rose's, Em's and Jazz's included, then we made our way up the next flight of stairs. This floor housed a music room which Alice informed me was sound-proof, another library, an ex-playroom (which was now a very modern office) and two more rooms, one a gigantic ensuites bedroom belonging to Alice and the other a massive walk-in wardrobe or more specifically, a dressing room. Alice's room was beautiful. It was a mix of white walls and dark teal colours that made the room grown up but mellow and very me-ish. She also had dark, old-fashioned furniture but she added her own style magazines and her new modern technology to make it the perfect bedroom. I could just see her flitting about in it as she walked to the speakers and flicked through her music until she found something she liked.

Singing along, she led us from her room across the hall to the dressing room. Now, I didn't really have a great eye for fashion, but even I could appreciate the amount of designer clothes that were stacked in this room. Rail after rail were lining the walls over box after box of designer shoes. She pulled a few pairs out to try on and then, grudgingly, left when I had gotten bored of her play-room.

It suddenly occurred to me. "Alice, what about your brother? Where does he sleep?" She turned to look at me fully in the eyes and after seeing whatever it was she was looking for there, she turned away and muttered in a low voice.

"Are you sure you're ready to see this?' I nodded as she looked quickly back over her shoulder. 'Okay, but be warned. It's nothing like the rest of the house." And with that she led me up the last flight of stairs.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

As we reached the top of the staircase, we were stopped by another dark wooden door, a startling contrast to the white hallway. Alice pushed it open and stepped inside and I followed her, wondering what to expect. I mean, I knew there wasn't going to be blood or anything but seriously – with the way Alice was making such a big deal out of the whole thing I wasn't sure whether her brother was an axe-murder with a crime scene in his bedroom.

"Don't be too shocked, Bella." Alice warned. I looked at the back of her head and rolled my eyes. It couldn't be as bad as she was making out but I decided to prepare myself instead. Stepping through the door, it dawned on me that the whole space was dark and – once my eyes had adjusted – very messy. I knew instantly what Alice meant when she had warned me not to be shocked as she flicked the lights on. The room itself was beautiful but the way it had been treated was appalling! Scattered across the plush, white carpets were piles of clothes, some ironed and clean but strewn, others dirty and crumpled in a ball.

I gasped. "Oh my God!" Alice laughed.

"Yeah." The bedroom was such a contrast to the rest of the spotlessly tidy house that I couldn't hold in my curiosity.

"Who the hell lives like this?" I cried as I ran my finger along the fireplace ledge, the dust collecting on my finger as thick as syrup.

"I do." came a masculine, silky smooth voice from behind me. I jumped ten foot in the air, screaming to the high heavens while Alice and Rose burst out laughing. I leant forward and braced myself against my knees as my heart raced and my palms went sticky. Eventually my breathing slowed enough to stand up straight and turn to see the cause of my panic although, I was sure I already knew who it was. I mean, who else would be in this room other than the owner? I gasped as I saw his face. Stood behind me was one of the most gorgeous men I had ever seen. He was tall and broad with the most amazing bronze. His emerald green eyes were captivating as I ran my eyes quickly over his muscled body. When I got back to his eyes and his – oh so perfect – lips, they were turned up in to a cocky smirk while his eyes glistened with humour. I pushed my shoulders back and raised my brow, trying to match his calm collectiveness.

"Ahh, figures." I winked and, marching straight past his shocked frame, grabbed Alice and Rose's hands, dragging them down the stairs behind me. When we reached the bottom they both collapsed in to fits of laughter, starting again every time they managed to get in to a reasonable state of calm.

"Bella" Pant "That" Pant "Was" Pant "So" Pant "Funny!" Rose choked out.

"I know." I grinned at her and walked away, winking. I made my way down the stairs and through the house until I got to the kitchen where Esme and Carlise were stood preparing dinner together, chattering happily. I felt rude protruding on such a happy moment but I didn't want to stand in the hallway and be accused of eavesdropping so I knocked the door frame gently and slipped in.

"Bella! How do you like the house?" Esme asked, expertly chopping the vegetables and throwing them in the large pot bubbling away on the stove.

"I love it. It's got the perfect balances in pattern and textures." I copied some of what Alice had said earlier, studying Esme face for any kind of fraudulent shock but there was none, just a beaming smile.

"Good. I'm glad. Did Alice show you your room?"

"Yes, thank you so much – you don't have to do that for me, you know!" Esme shook her head.

"No, Bella, I want too. I like you – a lot - and I promised your Mom I would keep an eye on you anyway so you're having it, whether you like it or not!" She added as she saw my doubtful expression. I sighed.

"Okay, if you say so." She grinned.

"I do." I held back a groan. It seemed the language was a trait passed down through the generations. Maybe it was less 'like Mother like Daughter' and more 'like Mother like Son'. It wouldn't at all surprise me with the state of that room. Any mother who held an ounce of respect would have him cleaning it. She obviously loved him way too much.

With that final remark, the conversation moved on and dinner began, a steady stream of conversation being kept up. It was only a few more conversations before dinner was finished and everyone was sat around the table waiting for the last plates to be placed. Much to my dislike, Edward had sat down next to me trying to get my attention while I studiously ignored him. He may be good looking but I had seen better. Anyway, what was it they said about good looking men? Stunning but lacking? I peeked across at his jeans and grinned. Yeah, that sounded about right. It was then I looked up and caught his eye. I blushed and turned quickly to face Alice seated on my other side who was chatting almost silently to Jasper. I knew from the look in his eyes that he had caught me looking. _Damn._

"Bella?" he said from beside me. I sighed and turned to face him. I nodded my eyes, still facing the other way. I could hear his grin when he spoke again. "Could you pass the pasta please?" I nodded once and stood up, reaching across the table to get the bowl of pasta, picking it up and reaching back when I felt a hand on my arse. I inhaled sharply and heard his chuckle from behind my back. My eyes narrowed. Right, if he wanted to play at that game. I turned to him, holding the dish of pasta securely and smiling sweetly.

"Would you like me to serve it for you, Edward?" He grinned but shrugged indifferently.

"Yeah, of course." I flicked my lashes a couple of times before leaning forward knowing my top would gape open. I expected him to look straight down but no. His grin widened as my eyes narrowed and a small hiss escaped my lips. Right. Moving the fork quickly, I 'accidently' dumped some pasta on the front of his jeans right on top of his crotch. His eyes went as wide as saucers as I feigned shocked remorse.

"Oh my Goodness, I am so sorry! Let me help you clean it up!" Before he could protest I grabbed a cloth off the table and went straight to work rubbing it over his jeans trying to be as hard as I could. Luckily for me, it took seconds for him to respond. I looked smugly at him once before pulling away and turning back to the watching table.

"Oops," I muttered. "I think he might want to clean that one up himself!" I sat down casually and scooped the pasta on to my plate as Emmett burst out laughing, food spluttering across the table. Alice and Rose squealed while Esme tutted.

"Emmett!" But he didn't stop. He laughed and soon, Carlise and Jasper weren't politely containing theirs anymore. They were openly creased up while Edward sat in his seat, flushed in more ways than one. I slyly turned to look at him.

"Pasta, Edward?" He sneered and ripped the bowl from my hands dumping a dollop on his plate while I silently shook, turning away from him. Oh this was going to be interesting. Seems little Edward is finally getting a taste of his own medicine.

After dinner had finally finished and we were sat around waiting for desert to arrive, Edward shot me a look and stood up from the table. He walked to the kitchen and dumped his plate in the sink, then returned and, dipping down, placed a soft kiss on Esme's forehead.

"I'm going to go and unpack, mom. I'll see you in a bit." He walked from the room looking at me once more before he slipped out. I stared after him for a second or two before I leapt up declaring I needed the toilet. I don't know what made me do it but as I raced down the hallway and up the first steps, I ran smack in to Edward who was stood casually pressed against the wall grinning at me.

"Ahh, I wondered how long it would take you to follow." I stepped back and gulped. The look in his eyes was lust filled and intense.

"Hmm, I wonder why I followed." I raised my brow as I walked carefully back down the room until I reached the bathroom door. I leant against it as Edward walked towards me until he was only a couple of inches away. I could feel the hairs on my arms sticking up as he leant forward and breathed against my skin. He smelt so delicious like warmed cinnamon – something that wasn't altogether manly but so _Edward_ that it didn't matter. He made it manly.

"I wonder why." Edward smirked and in one swift movement had us in the bathroom pressed against the door, locking it behind us. He leant on the door with one elbow either side of my head, his hands combing through my hair. He was a good foot taller than me so his legs were apart slightly, his knees bent as he looked in to my eyes. Flickering down to his jeans I could see that my earlier presumption defiantly wasn't true. There was more than an average sized package there. We looked at each other for a moment more before he dipped his head and began kissing from my ear across my face and down to my neck where he sucked and nipped playfully. The sensations were amazing as I scraped my nails across the wooden door and finally placed them up in his hair tugging it closer. He moaned in to my mouth as I rammed my tongue down his throat and my hands worked through his soft, silky hair. It was gorgeous and so were the sounds he was making, but that wasn't enough. Spinning us around so that his back was pressed against the door, I hitched one leg around his waist, my arms latching around his neck and my lips firmly on his. We were going to have to hurry if we wanted his family not to become suspicious. I stopped myself short. Where the hell did that thought come from? I yanked away and unhitched my leg, stepping back. He was breathing heavily and looking at me shocked. I shook my head, closing my eyes.

"No, Edward. You're my best friend's Brother, this isn't right." And with that I forced him out my way and raced down the stairs.

"Bella!" Alice called as she searched around the rooms. I stopped, took a deep breath and then continued walking slower trying to calm my erratic breathing.

"Sorry Alice, I just had to run and get something." Alice looked at me as I rounded the corner and raised her brow.

"Uh-hu. That's why your bag's still in the hallway." She winked at me and, grabbing my hand, towed me through to where the family had begun desert. They didn't say anything but I saw all of them eye me. Emmett and Jasper looked confused, Esme and Carlise knowing and Rose and Alice had that 'You'll tell us everything later' look. Out of all three, I was dreading the Alice and Rose one the most. I internally sighed but sat down in my place and tucked in. Just as I put the fork in my mouth, the chair clattered next to me and Edward sunk in to the chair beside me. Once again I tried ignoring him but he caught me on one of my glances and smiled. This time there was no cocky bastard there but something I hadn't ever thought I would see in Edward Cullen – hurt. I turned back to my food and pushed my plate away. Suddenly I wasn't hungry anymore.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"Thanks again so much for having me, Esme, Carlise!"

"It was our pleasure, Bella. You're welcome back anytime." Carlise replied as he leant in to kiss my cheek, still holding Esme's hand.

"Bye, Mom, Dad" Alice hugged them both and made to get a quick getaway. I was pretty certain at the point why the quick leave was wanted but I was determined to put it off as long as possible. I wasn't ready to spill about what went down in the bathroom but I was worried that there was only so much interrogation I could withstand.

The whole car ride home, Alice and Rose chatted about the latest fashion trend, work and celebs while I sat in the back of the car scheming about how to get out of the Bella interrogation. I was guessing at this point that my chances of making it out of this alive weren't high but hey, I had to try!

"So Bella," Rose wrapped her arm around my waist as Alice came at me from the other side. I gulped.

"Yes?"

"Do you want to come back to ours for a movie night? We can have a few drinks, some popcorn and a gossip." She raised her eyebrows at me and smirked. I looked back and forth between the two of them for a second panic stricken. I could not spill.

"I'm so sorry but I'm not feeling great. Period pains and all that jazz. Maybe another night." I tried to pull away but two sets of hands grabbed my arms and yanked me back in to place, pulling me towards the elevator.

"Aww, never mind. We'll take it easy and just chill and I'm sure we have some meds at ours anyway, right Rose?" Alice smirked at Rose knowing already that they had me under boot already. I sighed and relaxed my body allowing myself to be taken along.

"Okay but I'm not up for talking much." Alice sniggered.

"Don't worry; we have our ways, Bella." I sighed again. This could be a long night.

Over an hour and a half later we managed to get the first film on. I had been dragged in to the apartment – much to my duress – and pushed down on to the sofa. I hadn't even managed to take my jacket off before they were firing question after question at me. What had happened? (We had 'talked'). Why had we taken so long? (He had been talking about my heritage). What had I said to him to make him so quiet? (Nothing, quite literally. We had been too busy doing something else.) He had never reacted to anyone else that way. He was normally a charming, sophisticated man who could talk the pants of an old lady, I learned. So, why had he been so off with me?

I hadn't voiced these concerns to my new friends but sat contemplating the answer as we sat through the first gruelling chick flick. It was some crap about Justin Timberlake having a friend with benefits who then – conveniently – fell in love. Like that would ever happen in real life. The man would fuck the girl for about two months before he found his next play thing and she, being sweet and naïve, would fall in love with his charms and good looks and end up getting hurt. A harsh slap in the face of reality making her cynical and bitter for the rest of her life until she met someone else, let her defences down and the whole thing happened again except this time she would vow to never let it happen again – she would know that this guy was different and would let him in, taking down layer by layer of carefully built, steel defences. I surprised myself by being drawn from bitter thoughts by Alice and Rose calling my name.

"Bella, is everything okay? Why are you crying?" Rose shuffled over on the sofa and put her arm around me. Oops, I hadn't realised that I was crying. I hadn't cried for him in over six months and I didn't realise that he could still have that heart-wrenching effect on me. _No_, I thought, _he doesn't_. I was determined not to let him have this affect. I would – have – moved on. Or so I thought.

"Bella?" Alice asked this time. Wiping my tears, I sat up strong in a new mind set.

"I'm fine. This film is just so … sad." I glimpsed at the screen as the word slipped out and realised my mistake. It was Justin with his friend both looking happy. I quickly tried to recover. "I mean, look at them. It's going to end in tears." Alice and Rose shared a wide-eyed look like 'crazy cow over here'.

"Okay then." Rose slipped her arm back down to the sofa and moved away. Great. No matter how much I said that I didn't want a bundle of energy and the model for friends, I didn't want them thinking I was some weird, freak who cried at everything. I fought the urge to hit my palm against my forehead and just smiled instead, staring at the screen as I day dreamed.

I had promised myself when I walked out that night that they would be the only tears I shed for James but one little reminiscing moment broke me down and now they think I'm a freak. Could life get much worse?

I sat watching the rest of the film in silence as Rose and Alice alternated between me and Justin Timberlake who was currently getting it on with his co-star. As the final finished, Rose stood to get another one. She picked three out and held them up.

"Just go with it, bride wars or the ugly truth?" I shrugged. At this point, I couldn't care less. I just wanted this night to be over with as soon as possible. Rose and Alice had actually quite grown on me but I was tired and with the memories fresh in my mind, I knew it wouldn't be long before they caught up on me. Yawning, I opened my mouth to make up my excuses but was interrupted by a knocking at the door. Rose paused the movie and ran to answer it as the person banged again loudly.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming. Oh, hey Edward, what's up?"

"I need to talk to you – about Bella." My head whipped around in the direction of the door in shock. About me? Why would he come to talk to Rose about me? "You and Alice, together. I need to talk to someone." I waited with baited breath for Rosalie to answer hoping she would say no and kick him out.

"Sure, Edward. Come in to the kitchen, I'll make a drink. Alice," She called and Alice stood, walking past me after placing a comforting hand on my shoulder and smiling.

"Hey, Eddie." From where I was sat I couldn't see anyone but could just about hear what was going on. They exchanged pleasantries and then got down to the serious business as I heard cups being slurped from.

"So what's up?" Rose asked louder than normal. I could totally tell that it was for my benefit as I'm pretty sure they both knew something went on with Edward and as they didn't get anything from me, they were doing what they could to get something out of Edward. I just hope he didn't give anything away.

"It's Bella." I could imagine the smug look in his eyes. He didn't sound upset but annoyed and arrogant. "I don't know what to do about her. She's just so frustrating. She swanned in to our house, wearing clothes that showed off flesh and being loved by everyone yet when she came out during dinner she was a completely different person. She was so … so … out there and I just can't explain her. I suppose that if I didn't know her I would say up herself and deceptive but I think-" That was enough for me. I didn't even want to hear the rest. I picked up my bag and tore out of the apartment, slamming the door shut behind me.

Once inside mine, I leant against the door, my heart pounding against my chest. Arrogant pig! I went from being offended to being instantly riled. I was not going to stand for that! Throwing my door open and ready for a fight, I began to storm straight over there to give him a piece of my mind … when I was stopped by a solid wall which caught me as I flew backwards. I looked up quickly to apologise to the stranger but instead was met with a familiar pair of emerald green eyes.

"Bella," he said in a smooth, velvety voice. "I was just looking for you."


	11. Chapter 11

Hi,

Thank you so much to those of you that have read my story, Favorited, followed or even just clicked onto it. I have to admit that whilst it was never really even started, I have now matured a lot in my writing style and have decided to begin re-writing the story from the beginning and (hopefully) finishing it. I will be trying to post weekly so if you like the new version please give me a shout and let me know - or even if you don't like it. Whatever you feel about the story, please share your views so I can improve it and adapt it to suit you. The reason that the story was never finished is due to a very difficult time I was going through in my life that has recently come to an end so I can only apologize.

Thanks very much.

- Miss Jordan


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